I know I already gave the details of where and when we went to Disneyworld. But I left out a few things. Like where we stayed. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort, on the recommendation of a former client of mine. She and her husband went there for their honeymoon (couple in their 50's, second marriages) and stayed at that resort. They loved it. I also loved it. Its a "Moderate" resort which meant that we had a refrigerator, and a larger room than staying at the "Value" resort. C. had a different take on it. He said that we werent in the room long enough to make the difference up in the price, I said that the more comfortable surroundings and quicker bus pick-ups made up for it. Last time we went in 2006 we stayed at the All-Star Music resort, which was fine other than the fact that we were 1/2 mile back from THE bus stop, and at the end of the day having a close bus stop was WELL worth the difference in money. We're planning on coming back to Disneyworld next year, and we're still debating on which room type will be right for us. We're surely not rolling in money, so I'm going to do as much discount searching as possible so we can get the most for our money.
I'm brain fried right now, I guess thats it.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Disneyworld 2007
Well, we got back from a whirlwind Disney world trip last night. It was CRAZY! We left on Wednesday, took 14 hours to get down to Orlando, and hit MGM bright and early Thursday morning. Our main reason for booking our trip on the days we did was so we could take V. and E. (her cousin-both 2 years old) to see the Doodlebops. Our girls just LOVED them. It was a 25 minute show and from the second they came on stage it was nothing but energy and silliness, which the kids just ate up with a spoon. They had it set up in a very large tent, so we were actually in the air conditioning for a while. There was a large area that the kids could dance around in right next to our chairs. Really well done. The only draw back was the huge long hot line that you had to wait in for tickets. No charge, just had to have a ticket to get in. So in the mean time C. and I went over to Tower of Terror, right next to the Doodlebops tent, and walked on. Always a good time. We left our girl with C's sister J. and his mom D. because they were nice enough to stand in the loooong line for us. After the concert we did the rest of the park, taking in as many attractions as having 2 two year olds would allow, and finished the day with a delicious dinner at Cape May Cafe. In 2003 when we went to Disney the first time, we ate there and this time was even more yummy!
Friday we went to Epcot. Lots of fun, of course! The kids loved the Crush Chat show and the living seas. Every fish that passed was new and exciting to them. At the Crush show, V. was sitting next to a little boy of about 3, and she was in LOVE! She kept trying to kiss him, and was saying "Mama I be nice!" and rubbing his shoulder with this sweet look on her face. It was adorable, but it looks like I have trouble on my hands! We made our way around the park, and about mid-day ended up in the world showcase. We took our time, lingering in each shop, browsing, and watching the movies each country offered. We found ourselves down by Mexico with about 20 minutes to get back to Morocco (more on that later!) for our dinner reservation. Anyone familiar with the world showcase knows that this is about as far apart as you can get, with a lake in the middle and no shortcuts. We have 2 strollers, a lady in her early 60's, an out of shape pair of parents and a short sister-in-law, who naturally walks a little slow. So we start hoofing it. We get to our reservation about 5 minutes late, and get seated at what can only be called the WORST table possible. My daughter was literally in the door of the kitchen, we were all the way at the back of the restaurant, and there was the most loud, clangy music being played just behind her. Not somewhere I'll be going again. The food was good, but the dessert was weird. The taste was very similar to sweetened cornflakes with almonds. After our dinner we went out and staked a claim to some waterfront and watched the fireworks. Beautiful and well done as usual. Only thing is that E. was so scared of them that she couldn't watch without screaming. It was the extra magic hours night for Disney world guests, so we stayed until about 11:30 and made our way back to the hotel, exhausted and overheated.
Saturday we made the fatal error of trying to go to an early breakfast at Boma, in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had an 8:30 seating. We made it and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, but we were all so tired from coming in late and getting up early, that by the end of our meal we all could have gone back to the room for a rest. We went to Animal Kingdom after breakfast and timed it just right to get on the Safari ride with NO WAIT! I couldn't believe it! The kids just loved seeing the animals and riding the ride. The main thing that impressed me at Animal Kingdom was the Finding Nemo stage show. It may actually beat the Lion King in terms of production and performance! It was nice to get inside, because this happened to be the hottest day of our trip. Sometime around 4 it started to sprinkle, so we went into A Bug's Life, and I forgot how funny it is to be with someone the first time they go see that show! By the time we came out it was POURING rain, so we got out the ponchos, threw them over the strollers, and went to the shops. By 4:15 they shut down all the rides, and basically closed the park. We had dinner plans for Chefs De France at Epcot and decided to cancel and rebook at our resort restaurant. They were full, so we went on the recommendation of the lady at the desk to the Maya Grill at Coronado Springs Resort. It was the best meal I had the whole time! The food was very very well done, the service (until the end of our meal) was perfect, and the quieter atmosphere was just what we needed. I had a mixed grill plate, Fillet Mignon, Grilled Fish, and BBQ ribs. Let me just say YUM!!
Sunday was the big day. Magic Kingdom. My best friend in the world, M. and her husband B. were there with her parents, sister & brother in law, and 2 nieces! Our trips weren't planned to overlap they just did, so I got to see them all briefly. My best friend and her husband came with us and rode all the kid rides and stuff, just so we could all hang out. I was really happy about that! They even rode Its a Small World with us. Now that's love! We left the kids with C's mom & sister so we could ride Splash mountain with M. & B. I have never gotten so thoroughly soaked in my life! In all the times I've ridden splash mountain (at Disney World and Disney Land) I have never seen a wave of water come over the front of the log like it did. My friends happened to be in the front so they got drenched. It was hilarious! I was supposed to be in the front, but my friend's husband at the last minute said he wanted to ride with her, so we switched and went down as couples. The girls got to watch the parade with the princesses while we were riding and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have loved to have been with my baby, and I thought I would be off the ride in plenty of time to see the parade, but the line said 20 minutes wait and it ended up being 55 minutes wait!! So I missed the whole thing.
There is so much more to tell, but I'm going to have to put it in a later post. I can't wait to go back next year! My main regret about this trip is that we had so little down time and didn't get to just enjoy our resort and relax more.
Friday we went to Epcot. Lots of fun, of course! The kids loved the Crush Chat show and the living seas. Every fish that passed was new and exciting to them. At the Crush show, V. was sitting next to a little boy of about 3, and she was in LOVE! She kept trying to kiss him, and was saying "Mama I be nice!" and rubbing his shoulder with this sweet look on her face. It was adorable, but it looks like I have trouble on my hands! We made our way around the park, and about mid-day ended up in the world showcase. We took our time, lingering in each shop, browsing, and watching the movies each country offered. We found ourselves down by Mexico with about 20 minutes to get back to Morocco (more on that later!) for our dinner reservation. Anyone familiar with the world showcase knows that this is about as far apart as you can get, with a lake in the middle and no shortcuts. We have 2 strollers, a lady in her early 60's, an out of shape pair of parents and a short sister-in-law, who naturally walks a little slow. So we start hoofing it. We get to our reservation about 5 minutes late, and get seated at what can only be called the WORST table possible. My daughter was literally in the door of the kitchen, we were all the way at the back of the restaurant, and there was the most loud, clangy music being played just behind her. Not somewhere I'll be going again. The food was good, but the dessert was weird. The taste was very similar to sweetened cornflakes with almonds. After our dinner we went out and staked a claim to some waterfront and watched the fireworks. Beautiful and well done as usual. Only thing is that E. was so scared of them that she couldn't watch without screaming. It was the extra magic hours night for Disney world guests, so we stayed until about 11:30 and made our way back to the hotel, exhausted and overheated.
Saturday we made the fatal error of trying to go to an early breakfast at Boma, in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had an 8:30 seating. We made it and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, but we were all so tired from coming in late and getting up early, that by the end of our meal we all could have gone back to the room for a rest. We went to Animal Kingdom after breakfast and timed it just right to get on the Safari ride with NO WAIT! I couldn't believe it! The kids just loved seeing the animals and riding the ride. The main thing that impressed me at Animal Kingdom was the Finding Nemo stage show. It may actually beat the Lion King in terms of production and performance! It was nice to get inside, because this happened to be the hottest day of our trip. Sometime around 4 it started to sprinkle, so we went into A Bug's Life, and I forgot how funny it is to be with someone the first time they go see that show! By the time we came out it was POURING rain, so we got out the ponchos, threw them over the strollers, and went to the shops. By 4:15 they shut down all the rides, and basically closed the park. We had dinner plans for Chefs De France at Epcot and decided to cancel and rebook at our resort restaurant. They were full, so we went on the recommendation of the lady at the desk to the Maya Grill at Coronado Springs Resort. It was the best meal I had the whole time! The food was very very well done, the service (until the end of our meal) was perfect, and the quieter atmosphere was just what we needed. I had a mixed grill plate, Fillet Mignon, Grilled Fish, and BBQ ribs. Let me just say YUM!!
Sunday was the big day. Magic Kingdom. My best friend in the world, M. and her husband B. were there with her parents, sister & brother in law, and 2 nieces! Our trips weren't planned to overlap they just did, so I got to see them all briefly. My best friend and her husband came with us and rode all the kid rides and stuff, just so we could all hang out. I was really happy about that! They even rode Its a Small World with us. Now that's love! We left the kids with C's mom & sister so we could ride Splash mountain with M. & B. I have never gotten so thoroughly soaked in my life! In all the times I've ridden splash mountain (at Disney World and Disney Land) I have never seen a wave of water come over the front of the log like it did. My friends happened to be in the front so they got drenched. It was hilarious! I was supposed to be in the front, but my friend's husband at the last minute said he wanted to ride with her, so we switched and went down as couples. The girls got to watch the parade with the princesses while we were riding and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have loved to have been with my baby, and I thought I would be off the ride in plenty of time to see the parade, but the line said 20 minutes wait and it ended up being 55 minutes wait!! So I missed the whole thing.
There is so much more to tell, but I'm going to have to put it in a later post. I can't wait to go back next year! My main regret about this trip is that we had so little down time and didn't get to just enjoy our resort and relax more.
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